USD One

Jeff Albus

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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Stop right there. Hall pass?&nbsp;



In a permissionless world, it&#8217;s an awkward question. Blockchains weren&#8217;t really built for access control; they were built to say yes to anyone with a private key.



But as crypto collides more and more with life outside our little bubble, the need for permissions has become unavoidable. Who&#8217;s old enough to enter? Who lives in the correct country? Who has permission to vote, and how many times? Who isn&#8217;t a bot?



For too long, the only answers have come from walled-off KYC platforms or one-off user flows that trap dev teams in maintenance purgatory. Every dapp that wants to check a credential ends up rebuilding the same brittle backend over and over, and users get stuck re-proving their right to access at every door.



Many builders are working on this today, but here in Solana land, there&#8217;s one solution in particular that&#8217;s seen a lot of buzz of late. The Solana Attestation Service (SAS) is <a href="https://solana.com/news/solana-attestation-service">a new open protocol</a> for turning off-chain facts into reusable, verifiable claims that stick to your wallet like a passport stamp.



Essentially, it offers a universal layer for issuing and checking identity-based credentials. Issuers, like KYC providers, DAOs, employers and maybe even governments, are now able to write signed attestations to Solana wallet addresses that can prove things like &#8220;I&#8217;m over 18,&#8221; &#8220;I live in the US&#8221; or &#8220;I passed this DAO&#8217;s verification process.&#8221;



Dapps don&#8217;t need to store or recheck that data — they just verify the stamp.



A typical attestation <a href="https://solana-attestation-site.vercel.app/docs">includes</a> a wallet address, a claim (like &#8220;is accredited&#8221;), metadata (optional) and a signature from the issuer. Solana stores that proof onchain, where it can be queried and verified with a single SDK call.



There is no server, no user data and no custom logic. Just trust, composability and a speedy path to compliance.



It&#8217;s privacy-preserving (no personal info onchain), frictionless (attest once, use everywhere) and permissionless (it&#8217;s open, so anyone can build with it), resulting in a <a href="https://www.range.org/blog/introducing-solana-attestation-service">smoother, safer, more composable</a> user experience.



Stamps earned across DAOs, onchain careers or verified actions can become inputs to everything from undercollateralized lending, to onchain reputation to dynamic governance weight.&nbsp;



We&#8217;ve already seen a few OGs <a href="https://attest.solana.com/use-cases">take steps toward integration</a>. Civic recently announced its intention to use SAS to issue reusable compliance credentials. Solid will let users collect stamps like &#8220;verified developer&#8221; or &#8220;founding community member.&#8221; RNS.ID has said it&#8217;ll be launching its own &#8220;Proof&#8221; infrastructure on SAS sometime next month.



Solana&#8217;s performance edge has made it a playground for DePIN, DeFi and hyperactive gaming, but scaling to the next billion users means handling real-world constraints. SAS allows developers to respect those constraints without sacrificing UX, privacy or decentralization.



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Cybersecurity

New Solana tool fixes the KYC bottleneck

Casey Wagner

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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June has certainly started off with a bang, and we don’t expect things to slow down anytime soon. With lots of updates on the tariff front, Congress back from recess, and an FOMC meeting on the horizon, it’s going to be a busy month.&nbsp;



Focusing on tariffs, though, here’s where we currently stand: After last week’s court drama, certain tariffs (including Trump’s fentanyl-related levies against Canada, Mexico and China) will remain in place until at least June 9.&nbsp;



To recap: The US Court of International Trade last Wednesday ruled that some of the Trump administration’s new trade policies are illegal. Within 24 hours, though, an appeals court issued a temporary pause on the ruling, allowing certain tariffs to continue while the appeals process plays out. The plaintiffs (a group of US businesses) have until June 5 to respond to the stay.&nbsp;



Should the pause be reversed, the White House has already said it would seek a ruling from the Supreme Court for “emergency relief.” The appeal itself could also make it to the highest court, but that’s likely months down the line.&nbsp;



The Trump administration on Monday appealed a <a href="https://abc7chicago.com/post/ruling-vernon-hills-toy-companies-lawsuit-president-donald-trumps-tariffs-delayed-appeals-court/16593543/">separate ruling</a> from a DC federal court that found Trump’s tariffs to be unlawful. This suit was brought by two children&#8217;s toy companies.&nbsp;



The administration said in April it would ink 90 trade deals in 90 days; that deadline (July 9) is quickly approaching. There’s also the separate 90-day pause on certain sky-high tariffs on Chinese goods Trump announced three weeks ago.&nbsp;



That truce with China appears to be in jeopardy. In a Monday statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce responded to accusations from Trump that the country had violated the recently penned agreement.&nbsp;



It was the US, Chinese officials said, that has taken steps that “seriously undermine” the truce. These include new AI chip export restrictions and the administration’s plans to revoke visas for Chinese students, they said.&nbsp;



You may have read about the so-called “TACO trade,” named after the acronym Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong coined last month to describe the president’s constant tariff reversals. For those not familiar, it stands for “Trump always chickens out.”&nbsp;



After escalating trade tensions with China rocked US markets Monday morning, some investors are expecting Trump to revise his policies tonight or tomorrow. A “TACO Tuesday,” if you will.&nbsp;



Unsurprisingly, Trump is not a fan of the now-viral “TACO” meme.&nbsp;



When a reporter asked Trump about the acronym during a press conference last week, Trump denied that he has “chickened out” in the past.&nbsp;



&#8220;That&#8217;s a nasty question,&#8221; Trump added.&nbsp;



The question now is: Does this discourse enrage Trump enough to impact his policy? Maybe. Trump said Friday that he’s doubling tariffs on steel and aluminum starting June 4.&nbsp;



I’m also starting to wonder if and when we will creep into “boy who cried wolf” territory. If Trump keeps pausing and reversing and amending trade policies, will investors eventually stop taking him seriously? Could markets stop moving on every headline?&nbsp;



I’m not sure. We’ll have to wait and see.



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Donald Trump

Trade war updates keep investors on their toes

Ben Strack

The SEC’s move to halt proposed crypto ETFs that would allow staking likely won’t help or hurt other issuers’ efforts to unlock that feature for their own funds, industry watchers argue.



Registration statements for the Rex-Osprey ETH Staking ETF and the Rex-Osprey SOL Staking ETF went effective on May 30 “without resolution of staff comments,” the SEC wrote in a letter that day.&nbsp;



The funds were structured as C-corporations, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart pointed out in a series of X posts. This “unique structure” would allow the funds to bypass the 19b-4 process, which requires self-regulatory organizations to propose rule changes to the SEC.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">BIG NEWS: <a href="https://twitter.com/REXShares?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@REXShares</a> just filed an effective prospectus for Solana and Ethereum staking ETFs to list here in the US. Don’t know launch date but could be within the next few weeks. These are 40-act funds with a unique structure and do not go through the 19b-4 process <a href="https://t.co/cqUCWlFAZW">pic.twitter.com/cqUCWlFAZW</a>&mdash; James Seyffart (@JSeyff) <a href="https://twitter.com/JSeyff/status/1928543214530683328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The agency had requested that the fund issuers delay the effectiveness of the registration statements tied to these proposals, the agency’s division of investment management noted in the letter.



“As we have communicated to you on several occasions, commission staff continues to have unresolved questions whether the funds, if structured and operated as proposed, would be able to meet the definition of ‘investment company’ under the Investment Company Act,” the letter states.



An <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec">SEC</a> spokesperson had no comment beyond the letter. REX Financial and Osprey Funds also declined to comment when reached.&nbsp;



Seyffart told Blockworks he doesn’t think these actions mean the SEC is pushing against <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/staking">staking</a> ETFs. “This is more to do with the structure of these specific filings,” he added. “I believe the SEC is working more broadly toward a framework for staking in an ETF wrapper.”



Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, said this appears to be an issuer testing the SEC’s regulatory boundaries on crypto ETFs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“With a perceived pro-crypto tilt at the SEC, the downside risk for issuers pushing the envelope is relatively low,” he explained. “In an increasingly competitive crypto ETF landscape, where first-mover advantage can be significant, issuers are motivated to explore any potential edge.”



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-actions-timeline">Amid volatility, a stable flow of SEC actions</a>



Ultimately, this saga is “probably all for naught,” Geraci argued.&nbsp;



“I expect the SEC to ultimately approve spot solana ETFs&nbsp; — and staking within both spot solana and ether ETFs — likely by year-end,” he told Blockworks.



The securities regulator indicated in a May 28 <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/sro/nysearca/2025/34-103137.pdf">filing</a> that it would take more time to rule on Grayscale’s proposal to allow its two ether ETFs — the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) and Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH) — to stake its holdings. The SEC has until October to rule on that. “Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved,” the agency filing notes. “Rather, the commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change.”



SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce noted in a February statement that before greenlighting modifications to existing crypto ETFs — such as staking and in-kind creations and redemptions — “the commission may have to make progress on custody and other issues.”  



More recently, the SEC’s division of corporation finance shared its <a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/statement-certain-protocol-staking-activities-052925">opinion</a> on the protocol staking activities that it deems not to involve the offer and sale of securities.



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ETFs

What the SEC’s staking ETF objection means for other proposals

Kate Irwin

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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Yuga Labs is cleaning house.



The crypto startup, known for creating the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs and promising a massive metaverse game called Otherside, has continued to purge itself of all the other NFT IP it’s acquired in recent years.



Yuga has now <a href="https://x.com/CryptoGarga/status/1928498064500945303">sold</a> off Kevin Rose’s Moonbirds IP, which it bought via an acquisition of Proof Labs in 2024, to a company called Orange Cap Games. Quick sidenote: Rose is now <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/digg-news-reboot-relaunch-crypto-wallet-kevin-rose">rebooting his old news site Digg</a> with a crypto wallet integration.



“Moonbirds deserve a team whose whole world is the birds, and there&#8217;s no one better than Orange Cap Games to help them reach their potential,” Yuga Labs cofounder Greg Solano wrote. “As for Yuga, we&#8217;re laser-focused on Apes, Otherside, and something special we&#8217;ve been cooking up.”



Moonbirds’ new owner Orange Cap Games previously made a Pudgy Penguins-themed trading card game called Vibes. Moonbirds could get some kind of game of their own, but will also <a href="https://x.com/Ocapgames/status/1928496749360066683">still be playable</a> in the Otherside. Moonbirds NFTs minted for 2.5 ETH back in 2022, worth $7,600 at the time. The current floor price is 0.9 ETH ($2,290), up 40% in the last four days.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdu7YlhzwArhwjKUZoK5RmrepGGAw2TidqPnVnJ78FFWZTrvxxokHVsMsQyOPHaicVACW1kucAHcPKgmfErgbt-pvsW1hpJV9NAOV2hl7OzPw3G-v7qZ4848oeA7cnNyBBBg6dr?key=SFpmdb3LyZYuA60Lgc3UPw" alt=""/></figure>



Now that the Moonbirds are out, will anything else Yuga-related be cut? In response to a post that suggested the Apecoin DAO should also be shut down, Solano said that “eliminating cruft” and being “thoughtful but also kinda fucking ruthless” going forward is the goal.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Have heard a lot of voices on this and similar ideas. At the end of the day, I just want apes and our core to fucking win. It requires being thoughtful but also kinda fucking ruthless. Eliminating cruft, and as much as possible, doing it in a way that&#39;s win-win for everyone… <a href="https://t.co/c3YWlLvG2B">https://t.co/c3YWlLvG2B</a>&mdash; Garga.eth (Greg Solano) (@CryptoGarga) <a href="https://twitter.com/CryptoGarga/status/1929208353861038573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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“At the end of the day, I just want apes and our core to fucking win,” the Yuga cofounder said.



Yuga cofounder Wylie Aronow agreed with the idea that DAO may no longer be needed, <a href="https://x.com/GordonGoner/status/1929314912490426510">writing</a>: “I think the DAO experiment for Apecoin may have run its course and with the regulatory nature changing rapidly in the States.”



So what’s next for Yuga now? In a January tweet, Solano <a href="https://www.theboredapegazette.com/post/coming-soon-yuga-labs-ceo-garga-announced-that-the-first-persistent-version-of-otherside-is-opening#:~:text=COMING%20SOON:%20Yuga%20Labs%20CEO,Otherside%20Is%20Opening%20This%20June!">said</a> the team planned to get a “persistent” version of Otherside out by roughly June this year (which could mean a launch sometime this month).&nbsp;



Otherside has been many years in the making. In case you forgot, the planned Otherside metaverse game held a massive “Otherdeed” virtual land mint back in 2022 that resulted in <a href="https://decrypt.co/99156/yuga-labs-sees-561-million-in-otherside-ethereum-nft-sales-within-24-hours">$561 million</a> in NFT land sales within a day. It triggered massive gas fee wars where some paid thousands of dollars in Ethereum network fees alone. That fee and minting chaos could have absolutely been avoided, <a href="https://decrypt.co/99848/infura-co-founder-bored-apes-on-otherdeed-nft-mint-chaos-future-of-ethereum">according</a> to one Ethereum infrastructure expert.



Yuga Labs has since been dealing with a lawsuit in the years since that mint (separate from its legal <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/yuga-labs-award-ryder-ripps-lawsuit">battle</a> with Ryder Ripps). Yuga, along with numerous other defendants including various celebrities and firms like MoonPay, was <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221209005588/en/ScottScott-Attorneys-at-Law-LLP-Files-Securities-Class-Action-Against-Yuga-Labs-Inc.-YUGA-its-Executive-Officers-and-Celebrity-Promoters">sued</a> in late 2022 for creating what the <a href="https://rosenlegal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Yuga-Complaint-Web.pdf">complaint</a> alleges is a “vast scheme” to sell what the Plaintiff claims are securities. Nearly three years later, that lawsuit appears to be ongoing, per PACER records inspected by Blockworks.



Yuga, which raised <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220322006088/en/Yuga-Labs-Closes-%24450-Million-Seed-Round-of-Funding-Valuing-the-Company-at-%244-Billion-Confirms-Plans-for-Metaverse-Project">$450 million</a> in seed funding in March 2022 at a $4 billion valuation, bought the CryptoPunks IP that month alongside the Meebits IP. At that point, Yuga had plans to expand its crypto empire. But recently, it’s been selling off that IP in a move that suggests it may have bitten off more than it could chew — or at least is dramatically <a href="https://x.com/pixiekate13/status/1922316697970635122">pulling back</a>.



Last month, Yuga <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cryptopunks-yuga-labs-sold">sold</a> CryptoPunks to a new nonprofit that plans to exhibit the NFTs at an art gallery in California. Yuga also sold Meebits to MeebCo in February, and <a href="https://x.com/farawaygg/status/1780627363069403391">sold</a> off its HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara IPs to Faraway in April last year.



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Yuga Labs sells off Moonbirds IP as push to clean house continues

Donovan Choy

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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A specter is haunting crypto — the specter of cheap leverage.



“Digital Asset Treasury companies” (DATs) are assembling stockpiles of bitcoin by funding it with primarily cheap debt and equity.



It’s particularly weird because it’s not just financial services companies in the mix. GameStop has <a href="https://x.com/gamestop/status/1927679297252364502">bought</a> 4,710 BTC, the Japanese hotel business Metaplanet has built up $930 million in BTC holdings, and the Singapore-based Basel Medical Group announced a purchase agreement of up to $1 billion in BTC.



Not one to be left out of the spotlight, Trump Media also <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/27/3088703/0/en/Trump-Media-Announces-Approximately-2-5-Billion-Bitcoin-Treasury-Deal.html">announced</a> its own $2.5 billion BTC treasury deal last week.



It’s not just BTC treasuries either — DeFi Development Corp. (<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/janover-to-receive-kraken-staked-sol">formerly Janover</a>) has <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/15/3082094/0/en/DeFi-Development-Corp-Purchases-16-447-SOL-Becomes-Leading-Solana-Treasury-Company.html">amassed</a> 609,190 SOL ($107 million), the Consensys-backed Sharplink Gaming is <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/27/3088575/0/en/SharpLink-Gaming-Announces-425-000-000-Private-Placement-to-Initiate-Ethereum-Treasury-Strategy.html">raising</a> $425 million to buy ETH, and VivoPower has <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/05/30/3091001/0/en/CORRECTION-VivoPower-Announces-XRP-Focused-Digital-Asset-Treasury-Strategy-and-US-121-Million-Private-Placement-Priced-at-US-6-05-Per-Share-Above-Last-Market-Closing-Price-Under-NA.html">raised</a> $121 million for an XRP treasury.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The trade explained</h2>



DATs are funding their crypto purchases by issuing bonds at low coupon rates (0-5%).



Who’s buying these?



One group of buyers are the market-neutral hedge funds, which simultaneously buy the bond note and short MSTR stock to delta-hedge.



Their profits come from the underlying volatility of MSTR stock. When MSTR’s price goes up, the fund shorts more stock. When prices drop again, they buy it back at a lower price.



The more volatile the stock price, the more of a profitable spread there is. The profit exists because realized volatility exceeds expected/implied volatility (otherwise known as gamma-scalping).



As my colleague Byron Gilliam <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/daily/issue/post_7d7eb3a7-4808-4c3c-afae-3838c37b49da">put it</a> aptly, Saylor is in the business of selling cheap volatility.



The second group of buyers are long-only asset managers (e.g. <a href="https://www.mitrade.com/insights/news/live-news/article-3-484667-20241122">Allianz</a>, <a href="https://www.hedgeweek.com/hedge-funds-bet-big-on-microstrategy/">Calamos</a>).



For these guys, if MSTR trades above the conversion price of the bond, then the bond is just like equity and can soar well past par.



Should MSTR’s price collapse, bondholders still have a senior claim on principal at maturity; today that claim is backed by <a href="https://bitcointreasuries.net/">~$60.4 billion</a> of BTC on its balance sheet (though MSTR’s converts are unsecured).



It’s profitable due to an asymmetric payoff. Limited downside and equity-like upside.



Both these sets of buyers enable Saylor to buy more bitcoin, which drives up the net asset value (NAV) of the company, which in turn drives up the price of MSTR stock.



This is what’s referred to as Saylor’s “infinite money loop”: It works so long as the option value of the equity trades at a premium to the net bitcoin per share (because markets are inefficient!)



Why aren&#8217;t funds just buying the ETF if they want crypto exposure?



I’ll let Pantera’s Cosmo Jiang do the explaining for me, per his recent <a href="https://panteracapital.com/blockchain-letter/a-new-frontier-for-crypto-exposure/">letter</a>: “If you buy MSTR at 2x NAV, you are buying 0.5 BTC instead of buying 1.0 BTC via spot. However, if MSTR can raise capital and grow BPS 50% per year (last year it grew 74%), by the end of year two you would have 1.1 BTC — more than if you had simply bought spot.”



Bitcoin per share (BPS) is the benchmark metric that all the participants in this game are eyeing.



DATs want to grow BPS (or ETH/SOL/XRP per share) faster than the company’s stock price appreciation, and that in turn depends on how well the firm can leverage capital markets to raise even more.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The risks</h2>



But of course, there is no such infinite money glitch.



DATs are already <a href="https://x.com/DylanLeClair_/status/1929383745657741473">advertising</a> their stock as offering “yield,” but no such organic cash yield exists. The metric works only as long as the stock price stays above the underlying NAV.



Whereas Strategy’s bonds were originally <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201211005457/en/MicroStrategy-Completes-%24650-Million-Offering-of-0.750-Convertible-Senior-Notes-Due-2025">unsecured</a>, copycats are raising capital with secured terms, which entails real liquidation risks.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Some quick thoughts on the acquisition vehicle meta: It seems like we&#39;ve found the 2025 equivalent of GBTC. I have no idea if these vehicles will achieve that level of scale and destructive potential, but make no mistake, this is leverage getting injected into the system. To…&mdash; Mippo 🟪 (@MikeIppolito_) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeIppolito_/status/1927450775870931015?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 27, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Should crypto markets tank, DATs will be forced to sell their assets to repay note-holders if they cannot top up collateral.



Everyone’s excited about the buying, but no one’s talking about the potential forced selling.



Until they have to.



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0xResearch Newsletter

The MicroStrategy playbook: The good, bad and ugly

Stablecoin issuer Circle is upping the number of shares it plans to offer as the company gets set to go public on the New York Stock Exchange.&nbsp;



The company is offering 32 million shares of Class A common stock, according to a Monday <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1876042/000119312525132755/d737521ds1a.htm">filing</a>. That includes 19.2 million shares offered from selling stockholders, for which Circle will not receive proceeds from.&nbsp;



Circle expects the initial public offering price to be between $27 and $28 per share, it added in the disclosure.&nbsp;



The share count and anticipated price are higher than what the company originally <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/circle-ipo-acquisition">revealed</a>. Circle announced the launch of its IPO last week with plans of offering 24 million shares (14.4 million from selling stockholders). The IPO price at that time was projected to be from $24 to $26.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/circle">Circle</a> spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on the changes.&nbsp;



Read more: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecon-execs-bullish-stablecoins-financial-revolution">Digesting Stablecon: Execs bullish on imminent financial infrastructure revolution</a>



A company upsizing an IPO in this way typically signals an increase in demand from investors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



ARK Investment Management, for example, has indicated its interest in buying up to $150 million of Circle’s Class A common stock at the IPO price, Circle’s latest filing notes. A Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-28/blackrock-is-said-to-plan-to-buy-shares-in-circle-internet-ipo">report</a> last week indicated that BlackRock is also interested in acquiring shares. Check <a href="http://blockworks.co">Blockworks.co</a> — as well as the <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire">Empire</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance">Forward Guidance</a> newsletters — for ongoing coverage of Circle’s IPO. 



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Circle

Circle ups IPO share count, price ahead of NYSE listing

David Canellis

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/supplyshock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



About 15 million people go whale watching every year — many in places like Mozambique, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka.



Stuck in Iceland, a travel magazine, <a href="https://www.stuckiniceland.com/whale-watching/">labeled</a> whale watching “a demanding contact sport where you battle the elements while looking for creatures that care nothing, whether you see them or not.&nbsp;



“Sometimes you are lucky, and the whales take a long time when they are visible. Sometimes they move fast, pop up all over the place, and you must be quick to see them.”



Today’s post celebrates Bitcoin’s version of the sport. So grab your spray jacket and binoculars, and let’s go crypto-catamaranning. 



Thar she blows!



The earliest known efforts to find, track and even identify Bitcoin whales occurred in August 2013, as bitcoin was crossing over the $100 mark for the last time ever.



Prominent Bitcointalk user prophetx had <a href="https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=282879.0">proposed</a> three whale-hunting commandments and encouraged others to join in:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Post any address holding in excess of 5,000 BTC ($500,000 then, $522 million now) in the last 90 days on a rolling basis.</li>



<li>Collaborate to identify the owner of the address, either in the real world or through their online footprint.</li>



<li>Use that information to map the biggest whales in the Bitcoin economy and follow the movement of their coins.</li>
</ol>



“Why?” was the first response.



“I study economics, so observing and studying the spending of the capitalist group is important to me,” prophetx said.



“It seems a bit creepy and stalkerish…,” replied another.



Prophetx: “This is no different than Forbes’ richest list. Bitcoin enables this and it should be used to advance knowledge. And if someone is that concerned perhaps they shouldn&#8217;t use a currency with a public tx ledger…”



Quickly, though, other whale hunters joined in. Within two days, someone had produced a rich list of about 300 addresses with more bitcoin than anyone else, discovered at 50,000 block increments (every 350 days or so).



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfmEBT3konP17uSTDNxl1F-STSovvFFbLJkZ4WcERKvLJsOexHrVCbDI9i3THmHDjskl24ToYjX69qg9vcJafJt1saW2r6BNK8HICQZgcPyw50EvIu_5d4JlWywyKA2COYj8b2QfQ?key=cMtRQN4-8YMqHSlqsgMNgw" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">In the future, bitcoin would be worth much more than $500.</figcaption></figure>



Among those whales was an address starting with “12ib7…” with 31,000 BTC — $3.1 million at 2013 prices and $3.2 billion today. It’s the 967th address ever created and was initially funded in May 2010.



The address can still be found on Bitcoin’s <a href="https://bitinfocharts.com/top-100-richest-bitcoin-addresses.html">rich list</a>, currently ranked 28th, closely trailing behind a Binance mining pool and cold wallet.



Prophetx’s thread never went far beyond that, with no whales identified under the actual post. Years later, as part of the depressingly long Kleiman estate court case, Craig Wright would falsely <a href="https://blog.wizsec.jp/2018/02/kleiman-v-craig-wright-bitcoins.html">assert</a> ownership of the address alongside others via Tulip Trust.&nbsp;



Wright had claimed that hackers had stolen the private keys and any backups were deleted — even though the coins in question had not been moved following the theft. He also attempted to sue Bitcoin developers into somehow granting control of the coins.&nbsp;



Of course, Wright ultimately lost the Kleiman case and was <a href="https://www.zdnet.com/article/craig-wright-to-pay-100-million-in-kleiman-v-wright-56b-case/">ordered</a> to pay the estate $100 million, dropping the case against the Bitcoin devs shortly after.



So, who owns 12ib7? Nobody knows. 12ib7’s last outgoing transaction was in July 2010, when it directed 9,000 BTC to an unidentified address (its first outgoing transaction was also on this day in 2010!)



Much juicier: Coinbase director Conor Grogan got as far as potentially linking the address to Satoshi.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">This address is also associated with funding 12ib, one of the largest active BTC address of all time, which hold 3B of BTC today. This lends credence to the link that 1PY was associated with Satoshi or a very early adopter/contributor <a href="https://t.co/q0b0H8PrMj">pic.twitter.com/q0b0H8PrMj</a>&mdash; Conor (@jconorgrogan) <a href="https://twitter.com/jconorgrogan/status/1887154642267574302?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 5, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



A so-called Patoshi address originally funded 12ib7 with 3,700 BTC. Patoshi addresses are believed to have mined bitcoin using a method that <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/satoshi-bitcoin-holdings-wallet-123b">only Satoshi may have known</a> was possible.



Whether that means Satoshi technically controls 12ib7 is unclear. All we know for sure is that the true owner was an early adopter and, for whatever reason, a Satoshi-linked wallet felt it necessary to send them thousands of bitcoin. Lucky them!&nbsp;



If they still have the keys, that is.



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Bitcoin

Bitcoin whale watching is a sport for having fun, staying poor

Katherine Ross

Morph, the L2 incubated by Bitget, aimed to be a contender in the modular blockchain space.&nbsp;



However, it hit a series of road bumps, as <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitget-l2-morph-company-problems">Blockworks previously reported</a>, and is now facing another shakeup: the departure of a CEO.



CEO Cecilia Hsueh told Blockworks she’s moving into an advisor role.



Hsueh has yet to publicly announce her departure from the blockchain startup, but said she privately told the leadership at the startup behind Bitget’s L2 that she planned to step down in March of this year.



“Since I’m the face of Morph, I don’t want to create too much damage [for] Morph,” Hsueh explained in an interview. “For the past two [to] three months, I haven&#8217;t really been involved [in] the daily operation too much.”



However, she said that she only told employees about the upcoming changes after a Blockworks investigation was&nbsp;published last month.



A dozen current and ex-employees spoke to Blockworks about the work environment at Morph, including alleged power struggles between Hsueh and co-founder Azeem Khan.&nbsp;



The source also told Blockworks that they felt both Hsueh and Foresight Ventures partner Forest Bai were at the helm of Morph. Foresight is both the venture arm of Bitget and an investor in Morph. Bai also serves as chair of The Block.&nbsp;



Blockworks previously reported that Bai had been added to Slack in February, prior to Hsueh stepping aside, and employees had been asked to add him to Ecosystem and Marketing meetings, per a Slack message seen by Blockworks.&nbsp;



Bai, people familiar said, acted as more than just an investor, with multiple people referring to him as a “shadow CEO.”



Morph, Hsueh added, will now be led by Colin Goltra, who was previously the chief growth officer. Bai will also stay on as a consultant, she said. Prior to the publication of the report, Hseuh said she had planned to make a formal announcement in June.&nbsp;



Hsueh said that <a href="https://x.com/Goltra?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Goltra</a> was a “great” successor.



“He has been in the space for more than 10 years, so even more experienced than me, and he&#8217;s very close to both Asia and also Western markets,” she told Blockworks.&nbsp;



Goltra told me he joined Morph at the beginning of this year.&nbsp;



“Dragonfly, their talent team, kind of connected me in with Cecilia and Morph,” he said. “In Late February, Cecilia decided to take a step back and sort of initiate…a transition of power.”



Since then, Goltra has worked with Bai and other members of the leadership team to make the transition happen.&nbsp;



Goltra said that Bai “doesn’t really have a formal role,” but has been a “key part of this transition.”



Hsueh said she’ll stay on as an “external advisor” to Morph, though she clarified that her role would be different from Bai’s consultant role.&nbsp;



Goltra said that Bai&#8217;s long-term goal is to “not be very involved going forward,” but added that, due to the transition, he’d played a heavier role in Morph.



Morph, Hsueh said, has a “stable team” now, which helped her make the decision to step down after experiencing a “health problem” linked to her sleeping.&nbsp;



As for the future of Morph, Goltra wants to continue focusing on consumer crypto but wants to be more specific in the L2’s approach.&nbsp;



“I think our first approach to that will be <a href="https://morph.ghost.io/onchain-consumer-finance/">onchain consumer finance</a>,” he explained. “Stablecoins…are having a moment. We&#8217;ve added on a ton of DeFi. We really want to make a big play in payments.”



As he takes on the CEO role, Goltra said that he’s spent the last few quarters focusing on what consumer crypto means and the direction he thinks will make Morph more successful.&nbsp;



They plan to focus heavily on Asia, but also the US. The team would love “to expand that to more of a global mandate beyond that, but Asia and US are our best for now.”



Goltra declined to comment on the timing of a token launch, but told Blockworks that he’s looking at things “month to month,” mostly because the beginning of this year was choppy, and not ideal for a token launch in his eyes.



The team is also not currently seeking to raise a Series A. “We retain the right to do so at some point,” but it’s just not a focal point for the L2 right now.



“I think we&#8217;ve definitely focused a lot on financial discipline, checking burn, checking expenses, and how we spend money on certain things. And so I think we&#8217;re in good shape,” he noted.



For now, Goltra plans to support a positive culture at Morph and potentially continue to add more folks to the team.



Jack Kubinec contributed reporting.



Updated Monday, June 2 at 2:03 pm ET: Modified for clarity.



Updated Monday, June 2 at 1:46 pm ET: This article and headline have been updated for clarity.



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Bitget

CEO shakeup at crypto L2 startup Morph, Cecilia Hsueh to step down

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Not only is summer just around the corner, but a new month means new data around venture capital spending.&nbsp;



Fundraising totaled $594 million last month, per Blockworks Research data. 



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfyjFnUan_M3Yj0D-dvJxPPg9eKTkMT8oGdsafjcghHXcrQlWEwxB4vZB5rKF7QiKv-nXD7SrDx-Ch1EF8pW1IAzCxuDNK29EKErwj7E0w3MmhwosZqDd0DLsk8J7wYF7Ul531i?key=yVgSIIjF1mC9KjIvAtsChQ" alt="" style="width:612px;height:auto"/></figure>



As you can see, funding made up a very small slice of the overall pie, with M&amp;A leading the month when it comes to money spent. A little over $2.9 billion went towards deals last month, of which most of that sum came from the $2.9 billion Coinbase-Deribit deal.&nbsp;



Overall, funding was on the smaller side, especially in comparison to the last few months. Is that concerning? I personally don’t think so. Not unless it becomes a trend, and it would take a few more months in a row to establish that.&nbsp;



There were roughly 61 raise announcements, again slightly lower than what we’ve previously seen, as depicted in the chart below.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdMHodH13GFeCb887KeAM6WQvmcYD-egClyt1wGFGg_ivalwRROPMC5fm8mrCKtmms3jFyuyOrI031gOf-zmMOtCXF8i8DcEz296FRgjqnTciay-IIRgqz6vA3nFPrNFESbcZOlGA?key=yVgSIIjF1mC9KjIvAtsChQ" alt="" style="width:606px;height:auto"/></figure>



While momentum clearly slowed, it’s on par for the season. Taking a look at the activity from <a href="https://messari.io/report/may-2024-fundraising-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com">last May</a> to now, it looks like both years have seen a dip.&nbsp;



There’s nothing that’s changed sentiment-wise that seems concerning, which would lead me to believe the dip is seasonal. But we’re going to have to see how June looks.&nbsp;



Per the TIE Terminal, it looks like the average venture capital round announced last month was the seed stage, with strategic rounds coming in second.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe1LUElota9xNR2is6MmtM8qHugMvPQoslXQJilomhOQPPoS6jz43Q9egfcfr64XVFZDfGwcdhX12TljENAe6iRXoGYf4C6iIcN6K8EvEfSBWpg6BOrrOBQKqIUSrnFBc2zMPJr3g?key=yVgSIIjF1mC9KjIvAtsChQ" alt=""/></figure>



Seed rounds tend to be smaller rounds, since they’re among the first rounds raised by projects so that could contribute to the overall sum. Strategic rounds can also be small, given that they’re generally a way for a start-up to not only access some capital but also support from investors.&nbsp;



So not the most impressive month but, like I said, it’s not too concerning yet. The end of June will wrap up the second quarter, and we’ll be able to take that data and compare it to the performance from the first quarter. 



Pitchbook’s Robert Le previously <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qE-3LNy9AyY">told</a> CNBC that he expects crypto funding to top $18 billion this year, and that number still looks like a real possibility as of now.



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Empire Newsletter

VC funding topped $594M in May: Blockworks Research

Byron Gilliam

This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/brand/the-breakdown">subscribe</a>.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“The man who despairs when others hope that is revered as a sage.”&nbsp;



— John Stuart Mill
</blockquote>



In her eviscerating review of Thomas Piketty’s Capital, <a href="https://ejpe.org/journal/article/view/170">Deirdre McCloskey</a> laments that “for reasons I have never understood, people like to hear that the world is going to hell, and become huffy and scornful when some idiotic optimist intrudes on their pleasure.”&nbsp;



“Pessimism sells,” she observes. “Yet pessimism has consistently been a poor guide to the modern economic world.”&nbsp;



It feels like that’s never been more true than in the age of the internet, where <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4">negativity drives online news consumption</a>.



Bad news has always gotten the clicks, but Joseph Pulitzer was the first to make it a business model — Pulitzer made his newspaper fortune by buying and then dumbing down the New York World, filling the paper with urgent headlines of murder, crime, scandal and disaster.



It worked, of course; Pulitzer’s paper became wildly popular because it tapped into our evolutionary instinct to pay extra attention to bad news.



As Daniel Kahneman explains, “organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce.”



Today’s most advanced organisms are no exception: “People don’t want to read about how good things are,” Morgan Housel <a href="https://pca.st/episode/fd0ceea1-38bf-4258-8268-dad9661d35b5">says</a>, adding that we’re drawn to those who tell us how bad things are: “Optimism sounds like a sales pitch. Pessimism sounds like someone is trying to help you.”



By any reasonable measure, <a href="https://x.com/HumanProgress/status/1875168992215679072">2024 was the best year ever</a> and <a href="https://x.com/sapinker/status/1904312802992341267?t=FJGoIWn9oNRAJmXc7_5PXQ&amp;s=19">our lives are better than ever</a>.



But people don’t appreciate hearing it.



“Why is it controversial to say things are better than they used to be?” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Not-End-World-Generation-Sustainable/dp/031653675X/ref=asc_df_031653675X?mcid=f77e49f20108370b89e6190faf4c1280&amp;tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=693463915385&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=15649262247609994965&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9009671&amp;hvtargid=pla-2188547162525&amp;psc=1&amp;hvocijid=15649262247609994965-031653675X-&amp;hvexpln=0">Hannah Ritchie</a> asks.



“Better than they used to be” is not a high bar, because the truth is that our ancestors lived in a<a href="https://x.com/HumanProgress/status/1856407796092203332"> brutal and boring world</a>.



And yet, people persist in believing that things were <a href="https://www.infinitescroll.us/p/things-were-better-when-things-were">better when they were worse</a>.



There&#8217;s no guarantee that 2025 will be better than 2024, of course, or that 2026 will be better than 2025 — and our relentless pessimism is doing its best to see that it’s not.



By regarding people who despair as sages, we make their dire predictions more likely to come true.



How else to explain the renewed popularity of failed experiments like tariffs and statism?



These are debates that were decisively settled in favor of free trade and free markets decades ago, back when we were far worse off than we are now.



But that’s easy to forget when evolution has hardwired us to be drawn to bad news like moths to a flame.



I think we should follow McCloskey’s lead and be “idiotically optimistic” instead.



Let’s check the charts.



The economic news has been good:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfvHbl4-xQfyM-IAohewuh8bSCTX4PhV5V4BNn8lESgoaq2xmVeEeHwI0lAkaHw7p-0X8d-P5ODikodbws9ZRHSECUzuHVtjoCaVJMwEPYmManbV6rPOUcAcbsEOcm5qm_XGpWkWA?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



If this were the price chart of a stock, would you short it? Our standard of living, as measured by world GDP per capita, has been a nearly straight line up.



Directionally correct:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfwdri2M6UXNAIkXoXcrtDCDr1xnOtjlAnL46P3HIZGyMrm1NLwnIH9ixIS817NgDJXMeZnVGafR7i7NQ8gFGi9vFLvj3V3eCzcQR9m0waEzGWd2wD1IQaERnRSlpoJ5j7PvxAV?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



One of the greatest economic success stories of recent decades is one of the least appreciated. Poland’s per capita GDP has more than tripled since 1990, but a <a href="https://polanddaily24.com/poles-worried-about-the-countrys-direction-new-survey-reveals-growing-pessimism/poland-today/54785?utm_source=chatgpt.com#google_vignette">recent survey</a> found that only 29% of Poles think their country is headed in the right direction.



Poverty is less common:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXe_2LkDyqAnmRo_bmSNGWIcIlr4L2Q4IIGW2m3FfVYUrka-uvTPLNnFWKnBjCql_p1QlPZNrFGp2dW9ZIIOdF_18sqq6jVNMjvZjneHQkX8z40PqkcvQGGIc5buy2IdQ4YZ0NgPnQ?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



The global poverty rate, measured as the share of the world’s population living on less than $2.15 in 2017 dollars, fell to an all-time low of 8.5% in 2024 — down from 38% as recently as 1990.



India’s great escape:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXebC6k911gzjQX2goszixKfn6_vblKF4FnKgf6SbBLkEYy7k0K9SdwMlYrxIDlvgQR1cyRH0WFyZWMyGKwRuKwFSs-Mt_sg08iz5m0m2eLN6816h0pCw96aoGeDOkFwmlyS9SD0?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



The Economist <a href="https://x.com/TheEconomist/status/1895609959351562666?t=UEeZNeK-sg0CBlENq9OlWg&amp;s=19">reports</a> that “extreme poverty in India has dropped to negligible levels,” citing the most recent data from the World Bank — only 1% of India’s households fell below the international poverty line in 2024, down from nearly 50% in 1995. That is such good news, I think it’s worth repeating: Nearly half of India lived in extreme poverty as recently as 1995 and now, almost none do. Incredible — especially considering that 40% of India’s workforce is still employed on farms. (Note: The World Bank’s chart above only goes to 2021.)



Contra Piketty:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXd-61ndUhrDm6IBf4RAbnj4FCtfI338snKT7ukwRZXiqFmFFpdHKjWRgpFDANzk5Y0Kl3L9c8___8cFNVKCpclaFhfB1UDO3Ik7UylEXy3jJ9lEiW_1V35aOouIhtyfZVmdOA2fKA?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



The Cato Institute <a href="https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/global-inequality-well-being-has-decreased-across-many-dimensions#inequality-human-progress-index">finds</a> that most measures of inequality have rapidly declined in recent decades, with infant mortality and air quality being two unfortunate exceptions. In the case of infant mortality, however, the news is <a href="https://x.com/robertwiblin/status/1923319267358892273">good overall</a>; it’s just that the developed world has continued to improve faster than the emerging world.



Make sure your retirement account is fully funded:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcqaKRBaGliH_bkxyBEp0BwZL17KT3BqaqHCZKt5SM3qo0qDOa7XE7WwwTC4Ud0oAROeW9MEhOKrxIkl7In7HFEZpiCGsaRBM50UmTM6pYrrq7wDNkvkIXcFjjFHocj9b_Dmprv8A?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



United Nations data shows that average life expectancy rose to an all-time high of 73.3 years in 2024 and is expected to keep rising. In the mythologized decade of the 1950s, global life expectancy was less than 50 years. Going further back, the historian <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mysteries-Middle-Ages-Feminism-Catholic/dp/0385495552/ref=asc_df_0385495552?mcid=6992f3cc73a0346a9832a6d2cbd6fa3e&amp;tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=693367808565&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=3120444394369326437&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9009671&amp;hvtargid=pla-617666925048&amp;psc=1&amp;hvocijid=3120444394369326437-0385495552-&amp;hvexpln=0">Thomas Cahill</a> estimates that in civilization’s golden era of Ancient Rome, only 4% of men lived past 50 (and “far fewer” women did).



Americans are upwardly mobile:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcwlrYqQZac6RVDUrbejnaOhF9X-7l4MgRP2mbEAr7SP8bpfOfLkSL_cdGe_xxjGLVnONn2rMtBgqzkc3b79TXdKdtpQKhPMH_jOT17ci4zSREO3u-zaqC23Co0UA8uIZynEJGMwA?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



Yes, the US middle class has been shrinking — but only because people are getting richer. <a href="https://x.com/Mark_J_Perry">Mark Perry</a> cites census data showing that the percentage of middle-income households is down because so many of them are now high-income households. Better yet: Low-income households have been moving up to the middle.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Contra Malthus: <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeDm21m46N8_nxxQ-vtnfC6XTTu1XSTPJYE0-fCP43p95TW9rarKXeMAHd8IxwUa2oStTmZNkwkvvCeu4Mpw_w8FSvbz5PTk4KFkTEiOmTf4Mn_Mg7QFI3qIBCYedYuUzBXgH9H1w?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" width="624" height="385">



Thomas Malthus famously reasoned that agricultural production couldn’t possibly keep up with population growth, but the <a href="https://www.cato.org/publications/superabundance-free-exchange">Cato Institute</a> explains that “the more resources we consume, the more we have.” It&#8217;s not just about fold, though: “Humans, especially those living in the countries on the frontier of innovation, create knowledge that allows us to grow our resources well in excess of the resources that we consume.”



Traveling is optimistic:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXezlqik7nirJpO_xs_Vf3_BNVV2dEbklY5jFT0KMCBJc8jizNs_2J8XHJswJTfLERc0_5Kt6agAk7TvvyJPMF2TE5pEgdGNGmJifHc6SlmOncKhSN_RQQYvJepdShRk9OpHcuCIWA?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



The US government may be turning its back on the world, but Americans are not — a record 21.8% of Americans say they plan to get out and see what the rest of the world is like.



Sustainability is more affordable:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfOJ2_HCquLN2l18mUCh6xhMboyVGew7E5e2NYR_jA4x0DZBmWbF-XcY4ORknpg9_Gx6TZ3HMORKRqeD2IxYShSw2CxmBf-v_V5AI_u4rvQSSezQPZSrWURYVu6Gk-OwuVaiSDYCg?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



Solar panels have gotten so cheap in Europe that they’re being used as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/2ea6bf6d-04e9-453b-a35f-cd6431cfc7bf">garden fences</a> (simply because they’re cheaper than regular garden fences). In Spain, the electric grid recently recorded its first weekday of <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/04/22/spain-hits-first-weekday-of-100-renewable-power-on-national-grid/">100% renewable energy</a>.



Stuff is getting cheaper too:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeZL5OjI3O2-GaxSfxU_EMMvIjuxpdJvu-MA8PTUvXOjfV3GS5_A4iBYLPsvS6LKju092Pn9lCvJavDWTrEv9kdPjm-UEIYLzpRHhvw0hy44Syt8YozsfydsAgUOj8jlnb8qhr7Jg?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



The “time price of goods” — i.e., how many hours of blue collar labor it takes to buy something — has fallen nearly 81% since 1971 (the year the US abandoned the gold standard). The time price of power drills, for example, has fallen 93.8%! The <a href="https://humanprogress.org/the-growing-abundance-of-finished-goods-1971-2024/">full list</a> includes many other garage and mancave necessities, like an 81% reduction in the cost of a mini-fridge (to keep your beers cold, of course). What a glorious time to be a man in this world.



Technology spreads quickly:



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXefwgLd5r8r4FCmV2uZsbB0HuBBsup2J8wO37E1t51VKVLenpNfNcHht2P98n9u7irNOEXhTOjFUsWQj_DTq6jpFWG7z8rk_qenXwIpd2Og5-bZ8AqZRWjVXuGpCfjdRwEYbPZS?key=KyfcwgcadGCR_sQ5fdWgMQ" alt=""/></figure>



Recent US history shows that when big new things are invented, it’s not long before nearly everyone has them. (It&#8217;s only slightly longer until we start complaining about them.)



We don’t hear enough about these success stories because they tend to happen slowly — “there’s no equivalent of Pearl Harbor or 9/11 for good news,” as Morgan Housel puts it.



But the good news adds up over time.



Vaclav Smil <a href="https://www.amazon.com/How-World-Really-Works-Science/dp/0593297067/ref=asc_df_0593297067?mcid=f5a9359d69693b6d95107a4d4514bf0f&amp;tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=693363595110&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=6232242435547018016&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=1021047&amp;hvtargid=pla-1416429483010&amp;psc=1&amp;hvocijid=6232242435547018016-0593297067-&amp;hvexpln=0">notes</a>, for example, that in 1800 it took 10 minutes of human labor to produce one kilogram of wheat, and in 2021, it took only two seconds.



A decline of 99.7% in the time price of food is very good news, but it doesn’t make for very good headlines, because most of us won&#8217;t click on it.&nbsp;



But we don’t have to be slaves to our evolutionary instincts — next time you see some good news, give it a read.



We’ll all be better off for it.



Have a great weekend, optimistic readers.



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The Breakdown Newsletter

Friday Charts: Click here for good news

Jack Kubinec

This is a segment from the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/lightspeed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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Anyone spending time on Crypto Twitter recently has been sure to run into users trying to farm positioning on some kind of mindshare leaderboard.



These leaderboards — the most popular of which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/kaito-yap-to-earn-takeover">live on Kaito</a> — use algorithms to rank users’ X engagement. Some crypto ecosystems looking for better engagement will offer financial incentives to users who earn engagement points.



The first leaderboard to specifically measure Solana mindshare will be released Monday by Wallchain, the team exclusively told Lightspeed. Influential Solana CT users will receive quacks, Wallchain’s offchain points currency. In many cases, including Kaito’s, points are used to determine allocation in a future token. Wallchain co-founder Yuri Yatsenko declined to confirm whether a token is in the works.



Wallchain’s algorithm is built to disincentivize spam engagement by applying “exponential decay” in quack earnings to users who are repeatedly flagged for spam, Yatsenko <a href="https://x.com/kyparus/status/1906087494686248971">said</a>.&nbsp;



Based on a pre-launch version of Wallchain’s leaderboard, the highest-mindshare Solana posters over the past 30 days were Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko, Helius co-founder (and Lightspeed podcast co-host) Mert Mumtaz, and trading influencer Ansem.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXccuNkmFMrpM74J5Eddr9biZmKnaaINguckmMXbmCHMR3UmK7-CbWddOfa8RKr9ngTrhcdievj_pm7vUV9IY6I99d3yzqqzeSjhYGDJwHCohA2WxzNuRZ6IIV5sNCITikf2cg13?key=5iBagISS1-jYVxcE9zLuZQ" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Source: <a href="https://app.wallchain.xyz/app/profile">Wallchain</a></figcaption></figure>



But while the top of the leaderboard checks out at first glance, many in crypto still complain that tying token incentives to X posts makes CT lower-signal and higher-noise.&nbsp;



“[Y]eah I absolutely hate it lol,” Blockworks Research analyst Boccaccio said when I asked if he had thoughts on the mindshare leaderboard trend. He added that such leaderboard programs are “bad for [the] marketing side because [they are] clearly being gamed and not useful anymore” and have “ruined CT’s noise/value ratio.”



Yatsenko agreed that “toxic incentives” and “short-term alignment” have turned many existing mindshare leaderboards into “spam-to-earn” programs. He added that this can be solved by algorithms prioritizing users showing “authentic, sustained engagement” around a small number of projects.



While the market may be reaching a saturation point for CT mindshare leaderboards, my view is that there’s a real business model here. Until now, crypto ecosystem builders looking to pay influencers sometimes had to go through middlemen and opaque value propositions. Sometimes influencers are allocated tokens for their services, which can be worth a lot of money.



In a perfect world, mindshare algorithms make ROI on influencer spending more measurable.



Interestingly, Yatsenko and his co-founder Max Bevza initially built MEV rebate software. But after going through Alliance DAO’s incubator, the duo decided to pivot to so-called AttentionFi — which can be loosely defined as apps monetizing crypto social media activity. Yatsenko said the seemingly unrelated sectors are “conceptually related.”



“MEV focuses on value gaps in transactions — AttentionFi focuses on value gaps in attention flows,” Yatsenko wrote. “Until now, we couldn’t measure attention value at scale. But with the latest advances in LLMs, we can finally understand and evaluate content quality, relevance and impact — automatically.”



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data analytics

Solana to get first Kaito-like mindshare leaderboard

This is a segment from the Forward Guidance newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/forwardguidance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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With Circle’s IPO <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/circle-ipo-acquisition">in progress</a> and the wrap of yesterday’s inaugural Stablecon event in NYC, it’s a great time to talk about stablecoins.



If you haven’t <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecoins-tokenization-blackrock-galaxy-das">heard of them</a>, the living-under-a-rock quip is probably warranted. I bet that’s a peaceful life, though, so in some ways I envy you.&nbsp;



But a misconception from those in the know? “To say that stablecoins are simply a new form of payment or a new digital currency would be like saying that the internet is a better version of the fax machine,” said Spencer Spinnell, an Americas VP at Circle.



Sitting next to Spinnell was Catherine Gu, Visa’s head of institutional client solutions. She was blunt: “Whether you’re a bank or an asset manager or a financial institution of any sort, I think everyone needs a stablecoin strategy in 2025. That’s kind of imperative.”



You might recall Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s <a href="https://x.com/BloombergTV/status/1894417091765121172?utm_source=forward-guidance.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=last-week-today">comments</a> in February about the company entering the stablecoin business upon more regulatory clarity. We then saw the WSJ <a href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/banking/crypto-stablecoin-big-banks-a841059e?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AerBZYPFX5a2haacTA5iq7AwIojtxkoHTgqgW6QyYg8lA6-Bm7HnO_KoE507zbgMOa4%3D&amp;gaa_ts=683071d0&amp;gaa_sig=69JEfMxC0kpfln3wX2SssXBckLi76bJzgXQyYbpX26PakTRi7zhDkxoP7enJLe-Agdy4vTSHEQO7qODwVEvLmg%3D%3D&amp;utm_source=forward-guidance.beehiiv.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=last-week-today">report</a> that several large commercial banks were considering issuing a joint stablecoin.&nbsp;



While the profits of stablecoin giant Tether (~$1 billion in Q1) are juicy to those considering an entrance, M0 CEO Luca Prosperi said TradFi players might want to focus on the distribution layer.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Mastercard’s Raj Dhamodharan said the key is solving for end-to-end utility while abstracting away the complexity of multiple stablecoins and networks. Moving in and out of fiat will be part of that (as seen in the payment giant’s <a href="https://www.mastercard.com/news/press/2025/may/mastercard-and-moonpay-team-up-to-mainstream-stablecoin-payments/">partnership</a> with MoonPay).



Not just a payment rail, industry watchers argue, stablecoins are rewiring backend financial infrastructure. They’re the foundational layer for <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tokenized-rwa-segments-will-boom-next">tokenizing anything</a>.



Financial firms leaning into stablecoins/tokenized RWAs — i.e. BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, etc. — see “a giant opportunity” for so-called shadow banks to displace the banks themselves, Sardine strategy head Simon Taylor told Blockworks co-founder Jason Yanowitz on the Stablecon stage.



Jonathan Steinberg, CEO of WisdomTree — a $120 billion asset manager that offers clients a platform to access tokenized funds and assets — called <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tokenized-yield-funds-complement-stablecoins">onchain money market funds</a>, for example, “very competitive to a banking experience.”&nbsp;



“I expect we will see a better user experience taking money from the traditional banking system,” Steinberg noted. “For the large banks, how they deal with this new platform — blockchain — maybe is their single most important issue.”&nbsp;



While stablecoin market cap predictions in the trillions get thrown around (up from ~$235 billion today), Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin looks at the segment outlook differently.&nbsp;



“I think that stablecoins fail if [they replace] ACH and Fedwire,” he said. “Stablecoins succeed if new business models on the internet are unlocked [and] if new types of payments that otherwise couldn’t happen are unlocked.”



Finally, it appears we were first to report some news out of Stablecon:&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">NEW: REVOLUT TO RE-LAUNCH ITS CRYPTO PRODUCTS/SERVICES IN THE U.S. &quot;VERY VERY SOON,&quot; MAZEN ELJUNDI SAID AT STABLECON &#8211; PER BLOCKWORKS&#39; <a href="https://twitter.com/strack_ben?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@strack_ben</a> <a href="https://t.co/tgd6dFWVfP">pic.twitter.com/tgd6dFWVfP</a>&mdash; DEGEN NEWS (@DegenerateNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/DegenerateNews/status/1928169379826463027?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 29, 2025</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



The neobank halted its US crypto services in 2023, citing regulatory uncertainty. And so it’s fitting the announcement came the same day the SEC offered clarity on whether certain protocol staking practices constitute securities offerings under US federal law.&nbsp;



The staking practices the SEC mention <a href="https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/statement-certain-protocol-staking-activities-052925">here</a> don’t. The industry <a href="https://x.com/crypto_council/status/1928440924083794399">considers</a> this statement a win.



There’ll be more to unpack there and other regulatory developments to come. Until then, enjoy the weekend.



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conference

Digesting Stablecon: Execs bullish on imminent financial infrastructure revolution

This is a segment from The Drop newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/thedrop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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OpenSea has fully released <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/opensea-announces-token-and-open-beta">OS2</a>, the latest version of its NFT and token marketplace, ending its beta period. It’s also added “Voyages” to incentivize trading.&nbsp;



OS2 is definitely an upgrade from the legacy version of OpenSea, both aesthetically and from a focus standpoint. Traders can choose to get analytics and data prioritized with Pro mode, while collectors can enjoy larger art graphics and a focus on collections’ stories.&nbsp;



The crypto company has also been gamifying its platform with a rewards program that grants users XP for doing things, like buying or selling an NFT across different blockchains. OpenSea previously confirmed that XP is a non-transferable rewards system.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfmgOOCQZU9-ZrU67TUlib94W2quFDdEt4jjNXuHWqNwNhxdIT4txCj2WycGJZFc_rOXMQF-5c28856n7LMT-5bE0SXjDbci3O9R_OTLaDTAGU6XFq6qTD2raREXPPVSmiTZ04XWw?key=pLaON2feFsadYeHASU8FFQ" alt=""/></figure>



The Voyages concept takes that a step further, turning using OpenSea into a sort of quest experience. Traders have to navigate to OpenSea’s <a href="https://opensea.io/rewards">rewards page</a>, connect their crypto wallet, and optionally tie that to their X account and Discord accounts to get started.



On the rewards page, you’ll see a list of Voyages, or things OpenSea wants you to do. Buying tokens, engaging with OpenSea’s social media posts, and using different features of the site are the main tasks I’ve seen thus far. There’s also a section for “Treasures,” a “Loyalty” percentage calculation, and an activity tab that lets you see what you’ve done so far.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXcw9wDa43W51_-QGmLWeMQUDdEEMAffvfUxmYueQIF947L08S992vF7CSEP7XMpa0yDL260lVz05qS5ORTkN4HiBiO74Pmt8jNDqfJWtxFGT5NLIQj_Jr-8RWfM0u_-nUrvcfUdsA?key=pLaON2feFsadYeHASU8FFQ" alt=""/></figure>



Image: OpenSea’s rewards page.&nbsp;



Now, I know what you’re thinking: wen token? OpenSea has confirmed that a SEA token is coming, via the OpenSea Foundation. And while the company hasn’t explicitly stated that its rewards program decides who gets some SEA (and how much), that’s likely the plan.&nbsp;



That said, OpenSea previously emphasized to me that the OpenSea Foundation, which the company said has no OpenSea staff as members, is responsible for all decisions around the planned SEA token. OpenSea has also said that its legal team did not set up the foundation.



Back in February, an OpenSea <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/articles/introducing-os2">press release</a> said it will “recognize active and loyal users” with the SEA token (in that release, it also said XP is a “new system for recognizing and rewarding active users”). What better way to do all this rewarding than create a tool that encourages said users to be active on OpenSea and literally present them with a loyalty score?



We don’t yet know when SEA is coming, but it may launch after this rewards program has been around for at least some months.&nbsp;



A cynic’s perspective would be that OpenSea is effectively using this rewards platform to pay for engagement by dangling the token airdrop carrot for those who follow it on X, engage with its posts, pay it fees by using its platform, and overall become a valuable, active OpenSea user.&nbsp;



But on the other hand, it’s a strategy that’s aligned with the times. It’ll help OpenSea stay competitive in the challenging current NFT landscape, which has shrunk in favor of memecoins and social token apps. Finding a way to gamify crypto trading is a smart move — especially if it can prove sustainable long-term.



OpenSea has also revamped its community-focused Discord server, which has over 280,000 accounts in it. 



It’s continued to add support for more tokens on more chains in recent months, including Ronin, Solana memecoins, and Abstract NFTs. The marketplace now offers support for assets across <a href="https://support.opensea.io/en/articles/8867082-which-blockchains-are-compatible-with-opensea">19 different blockchains</a>, and has also recently launched cross-chain swaps, as well.



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OpenSea adds rewards questing with ‘Voyages’ in OS2 public launch

Macauley Peterson

This is a segment from the 0xResearch newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/0xresearch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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The long-awaited <a href="https://x.com/LiquityProtocol/status/1924465010925056106">relaunch</a> of Liquity v2 this month — after an unfortunate <a href="https://x.com/LiquityProtocol/status/1892943503489179877">bug</a> scuttled <a href="https://blockworks-research.beehiiv.com/p/thorchain-is-insolvent?_bhlid=6c4b8be52f206d06440f9eb9d5296cf534f95630&amp;utm_campaign=thorchain-is-insolvent&amp;utm_medium=newsletter&amp;utm_source=blockworks-research.beehiiv.com">the first deployment</a> — marked a major step forward for decentralized, censorship-resistant borrowing. However, it’s limited to ETH, stETH and rETH as collateral.



To expand collateral options, “friendly forks” are <a href="https://docs.liquity.org/v2-documentation/friendly-fork-program">encouraged</a>. Two promising new Bitcoin-backed stablecoins are launching with Liquity’s tech: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/evm-compatible-layer-1-blockchain-vc-interest">Alpen Labs’</a> Bitcoin Dollar (BTD) and Asymmetry’s USDaf.



Built around Liquity’s battle-tested, governance-free model, v2 brings improved capital efficiency and user-set interest rates in addition to new collateral types. Importantly, it extends the original protocol’s strict censorship minimization ethos to new blockchains, including Ethereum and Bitcoin layer-2s, through licensing agreements.



Bitcoin lending has historically been dominated by custodial platforms like <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/blockfi">BlockFi</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/celsius">Celsius</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ledn">Ledn</a>, where users surrendered their BTC in exchange for dollar liquidity — often at the cost of transparency, flexibility or sometimes, well, solvency. The latest option, <a href="https://x.com/pete_rizzo_/status/1928227113854800153">presented</a> in Las Vegas at Bitcoin2025, is from Bitcoin payments company <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/jack-mallers-strike-bitcoin-el-salvador">Strike</a>, which offers Bitcoin-backed loans at interest rates between 9-13% — typical for custodial lenders.



Compared to centralized services, the DeFi alternatives offer much better terms.



Asymmetry’s <a href="https://usdaf.asymmetry.finance/">offering</a>, which is live on Ethereum mainnet, accepts <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/tbtc">tBTC</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/wbtc">wBTC</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-wrapped-bitcoin-competitor-cbbtc">cbBTC</a> at max LTVs above 80%, with borrowing rates currently between 4.2% and 7.1% APR.



Alpen’s BTD, while not yet live on mainnet, aims to do the same using native BTC collateral (eventually via BitVM bridges) in a zero-governance <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-zk-rollups-debate">zk rollup</a>, according to CEO Simanta Gautam.



“We’re building a Bitcoin-native, censorship-resistant stablecoin — not another wrapped token or federated bridge,” Gautam told Blockworks.



The BTD will be immutable from day one, and will launch with no governance token or admin keys — much like <a href="https://blockworks.co/podcast/0xresearch/1766969a-7aa9-11ef-8787-df917c89931b">Liquity itself</a>. That’s unusual among Liquity v2 forks, which typically promise tokens to Liquity’s own BOLD stablecoin liquidity and stability providers.



Even non-Liquity options like <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/mezo-21m-raise">Mezo</a>, which <a href="https://mezo.org/blog/mezo-mainnet-is-here/">launched mainnet</a> this week, offer Bitcoin-backed loans at 1% fixed interest — though users give up custody and flexibility to take advantage. The MUSD stablecoin is only useful via integrated partners in the <a href="https://mezo.org/market">Mezo Market</a>.



The clear advantages of the decentralized model are capital efficiency, lower interest rates and potentially the elimination of custodial risk. For advanced users looking to allocate new capital to bitcoin, there’s little reason to use a custodial lender.



But there’s one major caveat: tax treatment.



In most jurisdictions, converting native BTC into a non-native version (like <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-derivatives-starknet-sui-lbtc-sbtc">LBTC</a> or <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/tbtc">tBTC</a>) is treated as a taxable disposal. So while borrowing itself is not taxable, the act of moving BTC into a DeFi protocol may trigger a capital gains event. That’s where custodial lenders like Strike and Xapo still hold an edge — by allowing BTC to remain untouched while serving as collateral, they preserve favorable tax treatment for long-term holders.



There’s a third category emerging that may offer a middle ground: <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/babylon-genesis-launch-l1-bitcoin-liquidity">Babylon’s</a> native Bitcoin staking, which locks BTC for yield but doesn’t create a derivative or require asset exchange. It’s still early, but that model could offer both yield and tax efficiency — without giving up self-custody. On the other hand, it’s not a stablecoin you can spend elsewhere, and the BTC income may be subject to tax like any other.



Sure, custodians also offer simplicity and customer support, and many BTC holders are simply not comfortable managing private keys or assessing smart contract risk. But for the majority of crypto-native users, those factors are far outweighed by the better terms, higher LTVs and greater transparency offered onchain.



As the infrastructure matures — and trust-minimized bridges like BitVM gain traction — the most attractive option for Bitcoin-backed borrowing may soon be the one that best aligns with Bitcoin’s own principles: decentralized, censorship-resistant and user-controlled.



If BTD can be minted against bitcoin in a native BitVM bridge, one could make a strong argument that the tax treatment should be the same as it is with a custodial lender like Strike. That might be the best of both worlds, but we’re not quite there yet.



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Bitcoin-backed stablecoins just got real — but tax rules still point some to custodians

This is a segment from the Supply Shock newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/supplyshock" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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After Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht dialed into the Bitcoin Conference from prison in 2021, he quickly found himself in solitary confinement.



It was obvious punishment. Ross was then placed under increased surveillance for the rest of his time behind bars — a direct result of his communication with the Bitcoin community.



Four years later, on Thursday afternoon, Ross stood on the conference stage in Las Vegas for Bitcoin 2025, in what he described as a “mirror image of that day.&#8221;



“You know what, I&#8217;m glad I did it [dial into Bitcoin 2021]. I am. Connecting with you that day felt so, so good, because it was like a small part of me had broken beyond the prison walls and escaped only for a little while.”&nbsp;



Well, the rest of Ross finally caught up.



Poetically enough, yesterday was 10 years to the day that Ulbricht was handed a double life sentence (plus 40 years) without parole.&nbsp;



“I was just 31 years old. If [the judge] and all the others behind my prosecution had their way, I would have grown old and eventually died still in prison. Instead, I&#8217;m here with you,” Ross said.&nbsp;



He wore a formal black suit, white shirt, red tie and shiny black shoes. But he was comfortable.



Bitcoin is, of course, very different now than when Ross was arrested in October 2013.&nbsp;



There were no Strategys buying up hundreds of thousands of coins, or government-controlled strategic bitcoin reserves. No CoinJoin or Lightning Network, either, and definitely no Ordinals.



Not to mention, there were <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/historical/20130929/">fewer</a> than 40 cryptocurrencies on the market at the time, with bitcoin dominance at more than 90%. The price of each coin was around $120, giving BTC a $1.6 billion market cap. Number-two XRP was far off in the distance with $100 million.&nbsp;



“I effectively went into a time capsule in 2013, and now I&#8217;m coming out like Rip Van Winkle. I mean, just a few months ago when I walked out of prison,” Ross said. “I&#8217;d never seen a drone. I had never experienced AI. I still haven&#8217;t [experienced] VR, the headsets, yeah, I haven&#8217;t done that yet. I had never chatted with AI.”



“It&#8217;s all hitting me at once, freedom. The new technology, the fact that I have a future again. It&#8217;s a lot. It&#8217;s a lot. I mean, I was in prison and now I get to live through this incredible time with you. What a blessing. What a miracle. What a gift.”



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8ZZGRA-8ZMU?si=wM-rUAJy_iQDVacr" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>







With deep gratitude, Ross recounted the ways that the Bitcoin community fought for his release. He received letters and funding for his legal defense, and they defended his legacy while he couldn’t.&nbsp;



He said: “You even got President Trump to see that Bitcoin is the future. Yeah, you did that. You got him to see that decentralization and freedom are our future. You said, ‘Ross is one of us.’ You stayed united. You said, ‘We want Ross out here with us.’ You said, ‘Free Ross.’ You did this.”



But Bitcoin was simply paying it all back. Silk Road was arguably Bitcoin’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-history-bitcoin-crypto">first killer app</a>. It was Ross and Ross alone who showed the world the power of Bitcoin, both as magic internet money and a tool for freedom without compromise.



“[David Bailey] said, ‘Ross, you took Bitcoin from 0 to 1. And while you were in prison, we, the community — all of you — we took it from 1 to 10. But we still need to go from 10 to 100,’” he said.



There were three core principles of Bitcoin that Ross championed in his speech: freedom, decentralization and unity. Each one reinforces the other, making them critical to maintain as Bitcoin evolves through its next great epoch.



“We can argue all day, but please, never see each other as enemies. Those that oppose decentralization and freedom love it when we&#8217;re divided, I promise you. So stay united. So long as we can agree that we deserve freedom and that decentralization is how we secure it, and we can be united, we can have each other&#8217;s backs. Just like you had mine,” Ross said.



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Stay united: Ross Ulbricht’s heartfelt message for Bitcoin

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, <a href="https://blockworks.co/newsletter/empire" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subscribe</a>.



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We’re so back when it comes to launchpads. 



Remember how many folks thought memecoins and things like pump.fun were on the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-memecoins-impact-crypto">downtrend</a> earlier this year?



How young and naive we all were. Or maybe it’s the opposite.&nbsp;



Anyway, my point is that launchpads are still having a moment, with the most obvious leader being pump.fun. In our previous conversations with Blockworks Research on the subject of memecoins, the team reiterated how bullish they are on the segment. 



In a <a href="https://app.blockworksresearch.com/research/the-launchpad-wars_pump.fun's-dominance-under-siege">report</a> earlier this week, our Research team looked at pump.fun’s dominance in a growing pool. 



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeDdVlDBreh0oCVCvZWS-JxgVBsKraIEXDtTs93BtUqASQvRCNUrP6brS_UwHhTCW2oCaxfn3mJhTkfMOHKSTWYcQIEuSq7am_gM68Zsv4Io6d6aV8Gz40LQkWeu2q5S7iB-gtk?key=cS080LHB1w_pUxzNZg64uA" alt=""/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Look at those volumes go. </figcaption></figure>



So far, pump.fun’s managed to really corner its market. There have been competitors (remember Tron’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/lightspeed-newsletter-solana-developments-to-watch">attempt</a>, for example?), but none of them has really managed to stick. 



“The core problem was structural: without instantly recognizable standards and an engaged speculator base (and their capital), these clones offered little more than a lower-fidelity imitation of the original experience,” Research analyst Danny K. wrote.&nbsp;



But analysts say that it’s still early days for this market, which means we could see more serious competitors to pump.fun down the line. 



“The winners will be those who either defend the core memecoin market or successfully create and grow entirely new categories rather than offering ‘pump.fun but slightly different,’” the report said.  <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/raydium-launching-pumpfun-version">Raydium</a> is a clear competitor, but they also note that Meteora “has had quiet success” in some of the same pools, from getting big launch partners (Trump and Melania Trump) to also offering infrastructure. 



Between that and their relationship with Jupiter, Blockworks Research said that they “ultimately view them as another major contender in this battle.”



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